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Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
How To Find Planet B, And Get There Alive
Earth will have a meltdown. What are our options? Tardigrades are little critters that were around before dinosaurs, and will eventually outlast us on Earth. They are so tough they can survive exposure to -272°C (cooler than liquid helium) and 150°C, which is quite a bit hotter than your pressure cooker. And Earth will be hotter than that in a few hundred million years – not entirely because of your car's tailpipe emissions. As our Sun grows older, it will expand, making Earth hot like Venus with its middle-age spread. So, we should start planning our escape now. But where can we go? Lisa Kaltenegger's book Alien Earths has useful pointers for wannabe galactic hitchhikers. As the founding director of Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, Kaltenegger is an authority, but she's got no recommendations, yet. Ideally, you wouldn't want to travel too far because you are – as The Matrix's Agent Jones put it – 'only human'. How long will you live – 100, 120 years? Unless you hit Star Trek's fantastical 'warp speed' – faster than light – you can't go far in that time. Voyagers 1 & 2 left Earth in 1977, and they won't get close to another star for 40,000 years. So, space travel's a bummer. Besides, space is mostly empty. Looking out the window will mean death by boredom. Step on the gas, and a 1mg speck of space dust could destroy your ship. So, speed and time are not on your side. Worse, your choice of space rock is a gamble. You have chosen it based on signs like the signature of its light, which tells you something about temperature on the planet's surface and the materials you'll find on it. Say, everything's perfect, and this planet circles our Sun's nearest neighbour, Proxima Centauri, which is about 40tn km away. You gather bag, baggage, family, and everything else that Moses took, and set sail on your ark. But…that light signal from Proxima took four years to reach Earth. Your data was already four years old. By the time you get there – cryofrozen, probably – in, say, 40,000 years, that planet may have ceased to exist. What then? The choice of your future home is complicated by other factors also, Kaltenegger shows. Maybe you're looking too hard for an Earth-like planet and missing some gems. You want oxygen? Earth had precious little in its atmosphere till cyanobacteria appeared over 2bn years ago. They could split water, use hydrogen and free up oxygen. That's how oxygen increased in air. If Earth formed at 12am, atmospheric oxygen touched 15% concentration only at 10pm. And now, a few seconds before midnight, it's at 21%. So, by looking for ready oxygen, you might miss some good candidate planets. Likewise, searching only for a planet with green plants might be a mistake. Plants on Earth are green because sunlight is strong and they absorb its red and violet wavelengths, while reflecting the green. But on a liveable planet around a red star – whose light has less energy – plants may need to absorb all the available light. Hence, their leaves could appear black! Our next 'Earth' will definitely need some getting used to. There's so much to figure out and fix. But we can't do that if we make this Earth unlivable in the next decade or two. Have you checked your car's tailpipe emissions? Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
When the sun dies, could life survive on the Jupiter ocean moon Europa?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Can life survive in the solar system once the sun dies and becomes a red giant star? New research suggests there may be a narrow window of possibility for life to persist on the icy moons of the outer solar system. It's not exactly clear where the habitable zone of the red giant sun will be, but it could possibly reach the orbit of Jupiter. Although the planet itself won't be habitable because it will still be a giant ball of hydrogen and helium gas, Jupiter's moons might become promising homes for life. That's according to researchers at the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, who reported the theory in a paper accepted for publication in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. In about 4.5 billion years, the sun will enter the final phase of its life. Its core of hydrogen fusion will expand and, in doing so, inflate the outer atmosphere of the star into gross proportions. It will swell and become a red giant star that will engulf Mercury and Venus and incinerate Earth. In the best-case scenario, all that will remain of our planet will be a lump of smoldering iron and nickel. In the worst-case scenario, it will be obliterated. The sun's habitable zone — the band where the influx of radiation is just right to support liquid water on the surface of a planet — will steadily march outward as the sun begins this new phase of life. Jupiter's ice-covered moon Europa will get a lot of heat. Not only will the giant sun be bearing down on it, but Jupiter itself will become hotter and reflect more sunlight, which will provide its own source of heat to the little moon. The researchers found that the icy outer shell will sublimate and the oceans underneath will evaporate. The most sublimation will occur on the side of Europa facing Jupiter because it will receive the most heat. And because of circulation and convection, the equatorial bands that face opposite Jupiter will also suffer significant water loss. RELATED STORIES: —Good news for the alien life hunt: Buried oceans may be common on icy exoplanets —Jupiter's ocean moon Europa may have less oxygen than we thought —10 weird water worlds in the solar system and beyond However, northern and southern latitudes on the anti-Jupiter side of Europa will have a more modest rate of water loss. The researchers found that this could provide a tenuous atmosphere of water vapor that could persist for up to 200 million years. That's a blink of an eye compared with the opportunities life has had to thrive on Earth — but it's not nothing, and Europa may become the home for any life that remains in the solar system in that deep future. The researchers also found that we might be able to find biosignatures on (formerly) icy moons around red giant stars. We have yet to have any confirmed detections of exomoons, but there are several promising candidates. Future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope or the planned Habitable Worlds Observatory might have the resolving power to examine the atmospheric features of these moons. Although it might be an unlikely scenario to find life, it does widen the possible locations for our search, as there may yet be refuges around stars that are nearly dead.
Economic Times
5 days ago
- General
- Economic Times
Is Europa, Jupiter's ocean moon, the final haven for life once the sun dies? Here's what a recent study shows
In approximately 4.5 billion years, as the sun transforms into a red giant and engulfs Earth, Jupiter's moon Europa may offer a temporary refuge. Research suggests Europa's icy shell will sublimate, potentially creating a fleeting water vapor atmosphere lasting up to 200 million years. This could provide a brief window for habitable conditions and detectable biosignatures. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads How does the red giant sun affect Europa? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Can Europa's oceans survive the heat? What are the chances of finding life or biosignatures? FAQs The most intriguing question is what will happen to life in our solar system after the sun sun will become a red giant and wipe out Earth in roughly 4.5 billion years. The cold moons of the outer solar system may provide humanity a fleeting chance to survive, while new science offers us a glimpse of a distant, dying future. Europa , one of Jupiter's moons, might serve as a temporary safe at Cornell University's Carl Sagan Institute reached this conclusion and published their findings in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical sun will reach the end of its life cycle in roughly 4.5 billion years. Its hydrogen fusion core will grow, inflating the star's outer atmosphere to enormous proportions. It will enlarge and turn into a red giant star, burning up Earth and swallowing up Venus and Mercury, as per a report by the sun enters this new stage of life, the habitable zone, the region where the radiation influx is just right to support liquid water on a planet's surface, will gradually move Jupiter remains an inhospitable giant ball of gas, some of its moons could potentially lead to a habitable the ice-covered moon of Jupiter, will receive a lot of heat. Jupiter will become hotter and reflect more sunlight, which will give the small moon its own source of heat besides the giant sun's scientists discovered that the oceans below will evaporate while the icy outer shell sublimates. Because it will receive the most heat, the side of Europa facing Jupiter will experience the most sublimation, as per a report by the anti-Jupiter side of Europa, the rate of water loss will be slower in the northern and southern latitudes. According to the researchers, this might produce a thin layer of water vapor that lasts for 200 million years or researchers discovered that biosignatures may be detectable on icy moons of red giant stars. Although there are a number of promising candidates, we have not yet detected any exomoons with resolving power to investigate these moons' atmospheric features may come from future observations using the James Webb Space Telescope or the proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory. Even though the likelihood of finding life is narrow, it does expand the range of potential places for our search because there might still be refuges around almost-dead but only for a short time up to 200 million years in isolated areas where water loss is underground oceans and temporary water vapor atmosphere may provide brief habitable conditions.
Time of India
5 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Is Europa, Jupiter's ocean moon, the final haven for life once the sun dies? Here's what a recent study shows
The most intriguing question is what will happen to life in our solar system after the sun dies. The sun will become a red giant and wipe out Earth in roughly 4.5 billion years. The cold moons of the outer solar system may provide humanity a fleeting chance to survive, while new science offers us a glimpse of a distant, dying future. Europa , one of Jupiter's moons, might serve as a temporary safe haven. Researchers at Cornell University's Carl Sagan Institute reached this conclusion and published their findings in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. How does the red giant sun affect Europa? The sun will reach the end of its life cycle in roughly 4.5 billion years. Its hydrogen fusion core will grow, inflating the star's outer atmosphere to enormous proportions. It will enlarge and turn into a red giant star, burning up Earth and swallowing up Venus and Mercury, as per a report by Space. As the sun enters this new stage of life, the habitable zone, the region where the radiation influx is just right to support liquid water on a planet's surface, will gradually move outward. Live Events While Jupiter remains an inhospitable giant ball of gas, some of its moons could potentially lead to a habitable planet. ALSO READ: Taylor Swift's ex-lawyer joins Justin Baldoni amid legal war, fueling Blake Lively rift and fan frenzy Can Europa's oceans survive the heat? Europa, the ice-covered moon of Jupiter, will receive a lot of heat. Jupiter will become hotter and reflect more sunlight, which will give the small moon its own source of heat besides the giant sun's pressure. The scientists discovered that the oceans below will evaporate while the icy outer shell sublimates. Because it will receive the most heat, the side of Europa facing Jupiter will experience the most sublimation, as per a report by Space. On the anti-Jupiter side of Europa, the rate of water loss will be slower in the northern and southern latitudes. According to the researchers, this might produce a thin layer of water vapor that lasts for 200 million years or more. What are the chances of finding life or biosignatures? The researchers discovered that biosignatures may be detectable on icy moons of red giant stars. Although there are a number of promising candidates, we have not yet detected any exomoons with certainty. The resolving power to investigate these moons' atmospheric features may come from future observations using the James Webb Space Telescope or the proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory. Even though the likelihood of finding life is narrow, it does expand the range of potential places for our search because there might still be refuges around almost-dead stars. FAQs Can life survive on Europa if the sun turns red giant? Yes, but only for a short time up to 200 million years in isolated areas where water loss is slower. What makes Europa a viable refuge for life in the far future? Its underground oceans and temporary water vapor atmosphere may provide brief habitable conditions.
